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12/8/11

Ride In 12/8

I didn't put newspaper in my shoes last night. They were still wet this morning. This came as a surprise to my feet. An unwelcome start to a very cold commute.My feet are still cold.
An update on button sales. So far, we've "moved" (figuratively) 21 buttons, which is pretty great. I'd like to thank everyone who has purchased a button so far. For those of you who are holding out, please be aware that I've ordered exactly one less button than the number of buttons you would have expected me to order and if you don't order yours soon, it might not be there. Or something like that. I'm thinking that I'll aim for some time next week for the BUTTON HAPPY HOUR/TWEETUP, at which point you can purchase a button, pose for a photograph with me shaking your hand, drink a drink, and meet the other readers of this very blog. It'll probably be somewhere downtown, presumably in a place where beer is sold, like a library or under a highway overpass. Suggestions welcome. Also, if you've already ordered your button on manfredmacx.com and would prefer to pick it up in person (and receive handshake, drink a drink, and/or meet other readers of this very blog), you can do that too.
Everyone who didn't ride yesterday seemed to be back out again today. Cold isn't nearly the deterrent that rain is. I tried not to be resentful, but my damp and cold feet wanted otherwise. I think that you should ride whenever it suits you and not ride when it overly inconveniences you. My feet concur.
I saw a pack of four Capitol police bicycle officers riding in a bunch along Second NE. Critical mass sure has changed.
Classic case of Second Car Syndrome as the driver of a red pickup blared his horn at the driver in front of him who correctly and graciously allowed me to ride across the street with the walk signal across from the Capitol. I turned my head and gave a nice long glare at the honking driver.
If you miss the bike light at the intersection of Pennsylvania and 15th, you can always turn right by crossing into the travel lanes and then cut back across the opposite travel lanes on 15th to get into the cycletrack. Just try to get back across before the northbound car traffic gets the green at the intersection of 15th because then you'll get stuck.
Remember when I used to complain about that caution tape by the White House?
Maybe drivers should wear flame retardant suits for safety. I've heard that in cases of car crashes, a flame retardant suit can reduce your chances on traumatic burns by up to 85%. Driving, as we all know, is very dangerous. Then in newspaper articles after car crashes, it can say whether or not the driver was wearing a flame retardant suit and we can judge whether or not he or she took their personal safety seriously.
Double shoaled along R, on the right two. One guy, who I'll call "boat shoes," especially ticked me off for some reason. I think that if you have to squeeze in the three feet between me and a truck just so you can pull in front of me at a red light, maybe you should reconsider. I'm pretty sure that I'm a better checker-outer than most people at the self-serve lines in the grocery store, but I don't just cut in front of them. For the love of Pete, only pass while moving. It's the only time when you can accurately discern whether or not the speed at which you're traveling is greater than those of the people around you. So "boat shoes" rides in front of me for a couple of blocks and we approach the intersction of R and 20th. There's an SUV in the left lane, a bike lane, and a truck to the right of the bike lane looking to turn right at Connecticut. And "boat shoes," rather than passing the right-turning truck on the left, goes to pass him on the right, moving into the path of his turn! (whereas I passed on the left, which was the obvious thing to do). If I'm ever injured because a driver has to take evasive action to avoid a dumb move from another bicyclist, I'll be rather peeved. Peeved, I tell you!
Even Secret Service police car drivers have to yield to crossing pedestrians and bicyclists. He didn't like it though. Tough cookies. Did I have to slow down so much to considerably lengthen the time it took me to cross the street? Probably not.
There's a regular Bikeshare user I see riding down Massachusetts. He wears a shiny, puffy coat and I call him Puffy Coat. I also see singlespeed superbiker alot, but he rides on the other side of the street. It only occurred to me just today that he rides up Mass with one speed as well. Wow.
Received the rare triple honk warning from a passing truck today. It's cool, but you still don't need to honk, especially because I was in the other lane. This is a well-intentioned misunderstanding that I wish would just go away.